Honor of the Heart
Chapter 2-Ninmu
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, just Akari Nara, her teammates, parents, sensei and dog, this fanfic and so on. Ah, and please no flames. Honestly, this is my very first Naruto fanfic so I ask for only positive/constructive criticism. If there is something bothering you so badly about the story that you just need to tell me about it, then I will gladly try to converse about it if you PM me. Thank you! ^^
Akari's POV
The sun rose with increasingly bright gold and cerise, still too early for the usual liveliness of Konoha. Only a few people were awake, opening up their shops to prepare for the busy day ahead. The only sounds audible were the birds warbling their cheery melodies as Kakashi and I walked in awkward silence.
I snuck a glance at the Jounin, who seemed to be mulling over his thoughts, whatever they were. I was itching to break the silence, which felt immensely heavy to me, but the only thing I could think of to say was a question regarding the mission.
And since Hatake had already told me what he wanted me to know - that we would be escorting and protecting someone - the question would've been pointless.
I was in the midst of waving to some shop owners when Kakashi's voice reached my ears. It almost startled me that he'd spoken up at all.
"That nightmare you had this morning... that wasn't the first time you've dreamt it. Or at least not the only one."
Automatically, my shoulders stiffened. "What makes you think that?"
"Jiro-sensei already told me."
My jaw clenched in anger, betrayal stinging me. My own sensei, after I made a point of asking him to keep my nightmares a secret (begged him, really), just goes off and tells the first person who asks?!
"It doesn't matter," My tone was sharp and defensive, but I cared little. What right did Hatake have intruding into my personal life? "They won't affect my performance in the field."
"No, that's not what I was getting at," Hatake's voice was reassuring, almost.
Soothing, in a way, the tenseness that was closing in around me subsiding, although his next question only served to agitate me further. "Have you ever tried getting help?"
"You think I haven't?" I rounded on him, shooting him an icy glare. This doesn't concern you Hatake, stay out of it. "'I'll get over it', they told me. That's it. No meds I can take, no medical jutsu that can heal it, no therapist to let everything out to so I'll magically feel better. I just have to... learn how to deal with it."
The silver-haired shinobi raised his hand in a peace-gesture. "Calm down, Akari-san. I'm not trying to step on your toes. I'm the team leader, and I have to keep in mind all factors when heading a mission."
"Fine."
Stupid Hatake.
I turned back to face ahead as I began walking again at a slightly brisk pace.
My tense shoulders ached, but it didn't matter. Whatever his reasons were, it still wasn't something that concerned him. Yes, the Kyuubi attack had affected me, maybe more than I was really willing to admit, but I was taking care of it and that was all that mattered.
It was strange, though. When I locked eyes with him, I could've sworn I almost saw... understanding. Like he'd been through it already, or he still was. No, that wasn't possible. Hatake was stronger than me in many ways; he could never be affected like that.
"Do Taiki and Saburo know?"
"No, they don't, and I swear on my life that if you tell them-..."
"I won't. It's your secret to tell; not mine."
That wasn't the reply I was expecting. Yes, I was anticipating something a little more... pragmatic, but with Hatake, it was never easy to ascertain what he would say.
It nevertheless eased the tension in my shoulders and I relaxed. It was refreshing to see that he had the respect to keep my secret a secret. Unlike Jiro-sensei.
"Th... Thanks."
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw his only visible eye scrunch - probably a smirk underneath that mask of his. "No problem."
Hatake and I appeared at the bridge near the hospital to see Taiki and Saburo waiting for us.
Taiki had a gentle expression on his face, his brown hair flowing in the wind. As I watched his green eyes sparkle with mirth, I smiled.
I always saw him in a positive, uplifting mood, even with his bouts of seriousness.
Then there was Saburo, who practically brooded all day, but he did know how to enjoy himself at times. Thinking about it, he and Taiki were just about complete opposites.
His cool demeanor was understandable - his father had been especially abusive until Saburo became bold enough to kick him out and bring him to the Sandaime Hokage. His icy blue eyes glimmered in the sunlight.
They both turned to look at us as we approached. Taiki beamed and waved while Saburo merely glanced over his crossed arms.
"Hey! Where were you two? We've been waiting here for over an hour. I can understand Hatake-san being late but for you, Akari, it's unthinkable. You always say you hate being late," My brown-haired teammate commented with a frown.
Hatake remained laid-back. "Sorry, we got caught up in the beauty of the morning sunrise together and lost track of time."
I scowled, huffing in indignation. So stupid... and I knew exactly where he picked up saying such ridiculous excuses, too, which made me even angrier. How dare he try and imitate Obito-kun?
Saburo and Taiki appeared stricken with shock.
"Uh, you're lying, right?" Taiki inquired.
"Of course he's lying! Aren't all of his excuses for being late always this ridiculous?" I snapped hot-headedly.
"Do you really think they'd do something as dumb as admiring the sunrise together? I mean, Akari's too socially awkward to do anything like that. Plus she doesn't have the patience for it." Saburo stated with a slightly arrogant attitude.
I raised a fist. "I am not! I have plenty of patience!"
Out of the corner of my eyes, I saw Hatake and Taiki regard me with exasperation.
"Ah, please don't say that. Anyways, let me debrief all of you on our mission now." Kakashi spoke, grabbing our attention.
"Now then, our destination is the Land of Noodles. We are escorting back the daimyo's son from a meeting since they don't have a shinobi village and the Land of Noodles is pretty much in the Fire Country anyways. He's going to be here any minute. Because he's the next in line to rule the Land of Noodles, his life is top priority. This is an A-rank mission."
Taiki grew excited. "So we'll be escorting a royal?!"
"Uh, sure. If that's how you want to phrase it." Our substitute leader shrugged, remaining focused on the task at hand.
"Great. More like a royal pain in the-" Saburo began, but I shot him a glare and shut him up quickly.
"You don't even know him yet, Saburo! Don't go judging people like that. He could be a very nice person," I chastised with a slight frown.
The dark-haired genin scowled at me. "I can judge him how I like."
I started to bristle, only stopping when Hatake interposed. It appeared it was becoming a thing for him to get involved in situations that didn't include him.
"Hey, try to settle down. You don't want to be arguing when he could show up at any time, right?"
I huffed. "Whatever."
Suddenly the massive doors that are the entrance and exit to Konoha groaned, slowly reeling forward to show a small, albeit plump child with brown hair swept up into a strange updo.
I stared at him in confusion.
Taiki frowned. "Who's the kid?"
I shrugged. "I have no idea."
"Are you the ninjas that my father assigned to protect me?" He asked, staring back at us while walking closer.
"Yes, that would be us. It's a pleasure to meet you, Your Highness." Kakashi bowed.
I looked at him in shock. "Wha-you mean he's the daimyo's son?!"
Even Saburo seemed surprised.
The kid trained his eyes on me with a glare. "Yeah, so? My name's Chikara."
"But you're so... young," I said dumbly.
"So are you to be a shinobi! I doubt you guys could save me even if the threat was just a fan." He scoffed, folding his smaller arms.
I glowered at him. "Excuse me? Mind repeating that again, Your Highness?"
"Akari, settle down," Hatake told me. I reluctantly obliged, though not without sending him a heated glare.
Saburo had a full-of-himself look on his face. "See? I told you. Nothing but a royal pain in the-"
"Yeah, I got it." I snapped.
"Ehem, anyway, I am Hatake Kakashi and this is my team. Raikawa Saburo, Wakahisha Taiki, and Nara Akari," He politely greeted while motioning towards us.
"You guys don't look very reliable." Chikara frowned.
Suppressing my spike in frustration, I took a deep breath. "Well, you're stuck with us anyways. We're stronger than we look."
Still, he seemed dubious. "I guess we'll see. At least your leader seems strong."
Hatake sheepishly rubbed the back of his head as we all glared at him. "Well then, let's depart. I think we've been here far too long."
We made a formation around Chikara, with Hatake leading the way, me at Chikara's left, Saburo at the right and Taiki behind us while passing the gates of our village.
As we walked down the path and Konoha getting further behind, Chikara started talking.
"How far are we gonna walk?"
"Not far. Our first stop is Otafuku Gai, where we'll be staying for the night. It'll take a few hours to get there, but hopefully, we'll make it before nightfall." Hatake replied.
I glanced around. "Do you think the village will be vulnerable? I mean, we've never been so short on shinobi before..."
"Nah, we might be short-staffed, but nothing can bring down Konoha!" Taiki grinned cheerfully.
I smiled, shaking away the dubious thoughts in my head. "You're right. Our village is stronger than that."
"Only because we have clans like the Hyuugas and Uchihas," Saburo added and I sent another glare his way.
"Everyone is strong in their own way. Like Kurenai and Gai. Kurenai is one of our most talented genjutsu users and Gai's taijutsu is insane." I retorted.
"Kurenai and Gai are practically prodigies. Gai graduated at the age of seven."
"Yeah, but because of all the hard work he put into everything! I graduated when I was nine!" I reasoned, frustrated at his cynicism.
"Oh geez, can you stop yelling? I'm right in between the two of you!" Chikara snapped, growing irritated by our arguing.
I heard Kakashi sigh but didn't care because I was too busy scolding Chikara.
Saburo's POV
Somehow Akari switched from arguing with me to Chikara, alternating from lecturing him like she was his mother and shooting back insults and witty remarks as if she was the same age as him, which only provoked him even more.
It was annoying, but if I said anything she'd probably pick a fight. That was annoying, too. There was usually something Akari did that irritated me without fail, now that I thought about it.
Looking at Kakashi, I noticed he was blocking out the bickering behind him completely, emitting a small sigh while focusing on his surroundings. I did the same, losing interest in my argument with my redheaded teammate. Taiki seemed unsure of what to do so he just paid more attention behind us for any enemies.
After a few hours, which thankfully did not include more arguing between Akari and our client's son, Otafuku Gai started to come into view.
To be honest, I was relieved. The little brat kept bothering us.
"Aw, come on! Just one taijutsu battle!"
"No."
"I'm royalty! Don't you have to listen to me? I'll pay you."
"We need to conserve our energy for possible enemy encounters. We can't afford to waste it on a taijutsu duel!" Taiki reasoned, but Chikara simply huffed.
"But it does sound like fun. Tell you what. Once we get you to the Land of Noodles, we'll practice there for a bit. It's been forever since we sparred, anyway." Akari suggested.
The kid dawned on the idea and nodded. "Fine."
Akari sighed in relief. "Good! Then let's just continue to Otafuku Gai in relative silence, okay? No more whining, complaining or pointless questions."
The daimyo's son huffed. "Whatever, peasant..."
My teammate glared at him but said nothing. Thank Kami for that.
Once we entered Otafuku Gai, the atmosphere immediately changed. It was busy, buzzing with activity. People roamed the streets to various inns, stands, and other buildings of varying colors and styles. The town was filled with noise, so for a moment, I was distracted trying to adjust to the festive town.
"Wow! It's amazing here!" I heard Akari exclaim.
"Stay on guard. Enemies prefer to take advantage of crowded areas due to the fact that you can lose someone so easily." The silver-haired jonin before us warned.
"We're not stupid. Of course we're gonna keep watch on Chikara-sama! It's our mission." Taiki replied, irritation absent in his tone.
Chikara pouted in protest. "But I wanna go see some of the stands!"
Kakashi hummed. "Hmm, well, I guess we can split up. You four are free to do as you like while I find us a place to stay. Meet me back here by sunset."
I looked at him with narrowed eyes. "It sounds more like you just want to get away from the kid."
He waved a hand. "No, it's not like that. Anyways, see you."
And with that, he took off, walking away at his own pace.
"... It's totally like that." Akari muttered in a deadpanned voice.
"So, you said you wanted to visit some of the stands?" Taiki spoke, a smile on his face as he spoke to the spoiled child.
Chikara's face brightened as he nodded.
"Well, let's go have fun!" My female teammate grinned, ushering us forward.
"Can't I just go with Taiki? You're weird."
Akari pinched his cheek with an evil look on her face. "Aww, but you're just so cute I can't stay away!"
He squirmed, trying to rip away from her tight grip. "Ow, ow, ow! I'm not cute! Unhand me, peasant!"
She brought both hands to his face, stretching out his cheeks with an irate expression. "Huh, what was that kid?! I'll show you who's a peasa-"
"-Why do I have to go along, too?" I interrupted, becoming annoyed again.
With a scowl and heated glare, she answered my question with one of her own. "Where else would you have to go?"
"Someplace quiet."
Akari sighed, continuing to drag us along. "Come on, loosen up and have some fun for once! Just think of it as part of our mission if you're that uptight about it."
It was my turn to sigh. "It's not like I really have a choice..."
"Well said! Okay, let's go!" She cheered, dragging us all along.
Chikara now seemed somewhat intimidated. "She's kind of scary..."
Taiki chuckled. "She means well in her own way."
"I don't see it..." The daimyo's son grumbled.
"Eh, what was that?" The redhead questioned, glanced down to him.
He jumped. "N-nothing!"
"Such a pain..." I muttered.
A/N: Okay, so I forgot to mention something before in the first chapter: The cover image is my OC, but credit for its creation goes to DemonKimmie. She's helped me a lot and I can't thank her enough! ^^ I'm also eternally grateful to my Beta Reader G-ChanSanKun. Please Review, Favorite and Follow! They're greatly appreciated.